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#3.
(contd.).
The Will of God and the Mystery of His Will.
pp. 145 - 159
Mystery and the Interval of Bondage.
B.--That is the point. Not until Israel's king is captive and Nebuchadnezzar constituted
king of kings do we read the word "mystery". It was the will of God that Israel's king
and kingdom should be established, and that shall yet be accomplished. It is the mystery
of His will that allows the interval between Israel's failure and Israel's glory to be
occupied by the Gentile powers, from Nebuchadnezzar onwards.
Where do we first meet the word mystery in the N.T.?
A.--In Matt. 13: where we read of "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven".
B.--Do you see any parallel with Daniel?
A.--Why yes. In Matt. 11: and 12: the Lord has been rejected. He stands among
Israel "greater than the temple", "greater than Jonah", and "greater than Solomon"
(Matt. 12: 6, 41, 42).
B.--And yet in His threefold office of Priest, Prophet and King, Israel refused Him.
Then come the mysteries of the kingdom giving the revelation of the way in which God
will deal with this apparent failure. Come now to Ephesians. There we have not only the
mystery of His will, but "the dispensation of the mystery" (3: 9, R.V.). Can you not see
that this also is exactly parallel?
A.--Yes, for Acts 28: quotes the very same passage, viz., Isa. 6: 10, that the Lord
quoted in Matt. 13:, and Ephesians reveals the dispensation of the mystery that
intervenes during the period of Israel's blindness.
The place of Sin and Redemption in the Divine Purpose.
B.--You can now appreciate the distinction I suggest that exists between the original will
made without regard to sin and death, and the mystery of His will which meets that dark
period of bondage by the gift of the Kinsman-Redeemer. Those who put sin, death, and
redemption into the original will of the Father are driven to the terrible conclusion you
quoted just now.
A.--All this is very interesting, but how does it bear upon the reconciliation of all things?
Two distinct Mysteries.
B.--Running through the ages, Scripture indicates two distinct mysteries. They are true
parallel lines that never meet. The one is called